Someday Babe
by Drkhntress
Summary: A fluffy three-part short. First part is soley introspection, Second part Babe smut, Third part set post HEA. That summary sucks, sorry!
1. Chapter 1

I promise my other stories will be updated as soon as I get a chance to edit, but this one has been sitting around waiting to be posted for a while now…

**DISCLAIMER**: The characters in this story are the property of Janet Evanovich. Believe me, if Ranger were mine, I'd have no problem telling him what I want from him ;)

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It was March in Trenton, NJ and it was still snowing- not soft flurries but full on, winter blizzard with a foot of accumulation snowing. And Ranger Manoso was stuck on the seventh floor of his Haywood office, painfully aware of the fact that he was alone. Not that this feeling was completely foreign to him, but lately, he'd been experiencing this heightened sense of EVERYTHING- though especially his emotions.

RangeMan was booming and his family was just as hectic and meddling as ever, so it wasn't any of those things. It wasn't Julie, because she was happily settled into high school in Miami, having the time of her life being fifteen. So that only left his personal life, or in other words- Stephanie. He'd been thinking about her a lot lately; where they'd been, where they were now, and most importantly, where they were headed. And every time he thought about any of those things, he swore he could feel his chest tighten, almost as if his heart was physically protesting the distance.

At times, if he was lucky, he could almost talk himself into believing they were just good friends with a persistent sexually charged cloud hovering above them. But that wasn't the whole truth now, was it? They both knew it went way beyond that- they were soul mates. The problem was she was too afraid to leave that good for nothing Morelli and take the leap with him. And the more he thought about it, the more he realized that was _his_ fault, because he gave her mixed signals. He tempered his declarations of love with foolish clauses like "in my own way" and referenced needing condoms instead of a ring.

But then again, his actions always said what his mouth could not. He jumped up and ran after her at the drop of a hat, fearing she was hurt. He stole kisses where and when he could. And he told her there was NO price for what they gave each other, ever. So why wasn't that enough for her to see his heart's intentions?

His life had been so simple before she'd walked into that diner and asked for his help. He'd had no desire to clean his life up and settle down, but his Babe changed all of that. When he had dropped in on her unexpectedly last weekend, he'd found she already had company- her niece, Lisa. She had had Lisa bundled into an adorable footie pajama and cuddled her to her chest, quietly nursing on a bottle, and as she'd looked up with a startled gasp and instinctively shielded the baby, his heart had leaped. He'd suddenly found himself bombarded with images of the two of them in the 'Batcave', tending to a little baby with his mocha coloring and her vibrant baby blues, swaddled in blankets and surrounded by their love. And in that moment, there was nothing he desired more than having that reality. Even now, when he thought about that afternoon, he found himself filled with a sense of yearning that he had never experienced before, and as much as it pleased him, it also irritated him because though he had always thought himself a man of action, he had not really made any moves to bring his fantasies to fruition…

On the heels of that shocking revelation, his phone began to ring, with Tank's booming baritone on the other end, "Rangeman, Bombshell's on her way up".

Before he could even sputter out a response, the succinct SOB had already hung up and in the distance, he could hear the elevator dinging in rapid succession as it rose to the penthouse, filling him with a sense of unadulterated delight and a queasiness he hadn't experienced since his first crush at six.

Suddenly, his bell was ringing, and he realized he was out of time…


	2. Chapter 2

**R/S SMUT AHEAD :) **Oh and again, all of the characters are property of Janet Evanovich, I'm making no profit, yadda yadda.

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As Carlos reached the entryway, he opened the door to his apartment with shaking fingers to reveal Steph. She stood there bundled in a flimsy wool peacoat and outrageously striped scarf with her face flushed from the cold, big snowflakes coating her eyelashes and wild riotous curls. And she'd never looked more beautiful to him than right then.

All he wanted to do was push her up against the wall and fuck her till her knees gave out, but he couldn't ravage her like an animal- she deserved better than last time. So instead, he settled for pulling her close, giving her a breath stealing kiss and losing his own in the process.

Just as he opened his mouth to greet her, Steph shocked the hell out of him by saying, "Babe!".

He was so stunned it took a minute for her greeting to sink in before he responded with one of his rare full out barks of laughter. From the way her eyes lit up at the sound, he could tell she was in a playful mood. He mentally groaned- it was bad enough when HE taunted her, but when she got on board, she gave as good as she got.

"It's negative five degrees outside Babe. Why aren't you curled up in bed, sleeping out the storm? Unless you'd prefer to be curled up in MY bed, in which case, I doubt you'd be doing a whole lot of sleeping."

The tease of course, drew the expected response, Steph's face becoming even more flushed as she stammered out, "Uhhhh- I, um- I need to talk to you".

"I've been doing a lot of thinking lately Ranger," she started, "and most of it revolves around us".

He could feel his eyes widen in surprise for the second time tonight. Seems like his Babe beat him to the punch, so to speak. Shaking his head, he pulled her further into the apartment and onto the couch.

"Babe…" he began, only to find himself shushed by her soft fingers gliding over his lips.

"Ranger, Carlos, I…", she tried again. "I want you. You've always known that. All those kisses in the alley that I never protested. All those nights you slept in my bed and I ended up draped all over you. I could go on, but why? We both know that I could never say no to you, but that's about to change. I finally ended my unhealthy pattern with Joe because I realized I could never commit to him seeing as how I'm only in love with you. But I won't allow you to treat me as a fuck buddy. Either you want to have a relationship with me and I get Carlos AND Ranger, or we just stay friends. No shades of gray here Batman."

As she wound down, he remained silent long enough that she prompted him with a not-so-patient, "Well?".

"Babe, I want you to know that I'm in love with you too. I have been for a long time now, and nothing you could ever do or say would erase that. In fact, if you hadn't come here tonight, I would have been at your place soon enough anyway."

"Really? Why?"

"I've been doing some thinking too and I'm ashamed to admit it, but I'm really glad you broke up with Morelli. I've realized that I keep hinting, albeit sometimes not so subtly, that I want you, but I've never really given you an idea about what the future holds for us. I may not have all the details pinned down but…", he paused, knowing that if there was any chance for them to be together, he had to take the plunge.

"But… I know that every time I think about my future, I see you in it. Beyond that, all I can offer you is unconditional love, honesty and support, and unwavering commitment. _Although, _I've recently discovered I'm not completely opposed to the idea of kids, if you want them. For as long as you'll have me, I'm yours."

As he finished getting out that last line, he was assaulted by an ear piercing shriek followed immediately by Steph launching herself at him with a fervor he had only borne witness to on one other occasion- their night together during the Abruzzi ordeal.

Somewhere during his internal play by play, she'd tackled him onto the couch and was currently straddling him in a rather strategic position. He could feel her soft core above his aching length and the thought entered his mind that she was finally right where he'd wanted her to be all along.

But on the heels of that thought, he shut his mind off and let his other head in on the whole scenario.

As he picked her up and carried her to the bedroom, her eyes flared indigo blue above him and she caught her lower lip between her gleaming white teeth, racketing the blood in his veins from a humming simmer to a bubbling boil.

Starved for her, he placed her on the bed and followed her down, but she flipped them.

Just as he moved to flip them back though, she unbuckled his pants and he spilled hard and straining into her warm hands. Before he could react, she grasped him firmly at his base and lowered her parted lips onto him. She worked him slowly, driving him into the wet suction of her mouth and swirling her tongue around his tip at the end of every plunge. He could tell his breathing had changed and his hands were fisted so tightly in the sheets he thought they were going to rip.

He could feel himself about to fall over the edge and he tried to hold on, to warn her, but she moved her hands even lower to gently massage his sac and he screamed her name on a long groan.

As soon as his breathing returned to normal, he pulled her up, kissing her and biting lightly on her lower lip, even tasting himself, but she pulled away. She slid off the bed and slowly pulled each piece of clothing off, tantalizing him with every newly revealed glimpse of flesh.

He pulled her back onto the bed and peppered her body with soft, wet kisses. When he got to her nipples, he caught them between his teeth and pulled lightly. Her back arched in gorgeous curve and she let out a loud moan.

The sight of her underneath him, writhing, encouraging him to enter her stripped him of his control, and he thrust into her with one quick stroke that had them both gasping at the sensations. He thrust into her fast and hard, even as she cried out for more.

He reached between them and pinched her clit, sending her over the edge and screaming his name. He felt her walls tighten around him and he followed her over, groaning as his abdomen contracted and he felt himself shooting into her, coating her walls with his hot cum.

Eventually, he pulled out her and they lay side by side, still breathing heavily, their vision clouded by black dots, but finally content in each others arms.

Just before she drifted off to sleep, he leaned over, whispering in her ear, "Someday is here, Babe" and was rewarded with the most blindingly brilliant smile on her face, just before she mumbled, "Te amo, Carlos".

**A/N: **Well Babes, I hope that met your expectations and prompts you to review! And if it didn't, then review anyway so you can yell at me!


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